Table 4.
Comparison of features of presentations resulting in discharged home from Emergency Department or admission to the ward by Indigenous status
| Discharged home from ED | Admitted to ward | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Indigenous (n = 173) |
Indigenous (n = 129) |
p-value | Non-Indigenous (n = 121) |
Indigenous (n = 103) |
p-value | |
| Sex (Female) | 77 (45%) | 79 (61%) | 0.004 | 48 (40%) | 70 (68%) | < 0.001 |
| Age (years) | 52.3 (49.3, 55.2) | 45.5 (43.2, 47.8) | 0.001 | 58.5 (55.2, 61.7) | 48.3 (45.6, 50.9) | < 0.001 |
| Self-presentation | 150 (87%) | 101 (78%) | 0.054 | 109 (90%) | 84 (82%) | 0.065 |
| ATS Triage category | ||||||
| ATS category 1–2 | 121 (70%) | 83 (64%) | 0.304 | 93 (77%) | 70 (68%) | 0.136 |
| ATS category 3–4 | 43 (25%) | 40 (31%) | 0.236 | 24 (20%) | 26 (25%) | 0.333 |
| ATS category 5 | 9 (5%) | 6 (5%) | 0.827 | 4 (3%) | 7 (7%) | 0.228 |
| Primary ED Diagnosis | ||||||
| Airway exacerbation | 50 (29%) | 38 (29%) | 0.916 | 33 (27%) | 41 (40%) | 0.047 |
| LRTI | 62 (36%) | 61 (47%) | 0.045 | 53 (44%) | 41 (40%) | 0.546 |
| URTI | 46 (27%) | 23 (18%) | 0.073 | 23 (19%) | 13 (13%) | 0.195 |
| Other respiratory diagnosis | 15 (9%) | 7 (5%) | 0.283 | 12 (10%) | 8 (8%) | 0.574 |
| Comorbidities | ||||||
| Airway disease | 44 (25%) | 22 (17%) | 0.081 | 37 (31%) | 42 (41%) | 0.111 |
| OSA | 6 (3%) | 2 (2%) | 0.305 | 10 (8%) | 3 (3%) | 0.088 |
| Other respiratory disease | 13 (8%) | 8 (6%) | 0.657 | 15 (12%) | 15 (15%) | 0.635 |
| Any comorbidity | 55 (32%) | 30 (23%) | 0.103 | 47 (39%) | 50 (49%) | 0.144 |
| Number of patients with no ward/any ward admissions | 168 | 100 | 118 | 90 | ||
| Deceased | 20 (13%) | 13 (13%) | 0.985 | 42 (37%) | 28 (32%) | 0.220 |
| Time to death* | ||||||
| < =90 days | 8 (40%) | 3 (23%) | 0.298 | 13 (31%) | 9 (32%) | 0.856 |
| 90 < =180 days | 1 (5%) | 0 (0%) | 0.234 | 7 (17%) | 3 (11%) | 0.573 |
| 180 < =365 days | 4 (20%) | 1 (8%) | 0.324 | 4 (10%) | 3 (11%) | 0.731 |
| 365 < =730 days | 5 (25%) | 5 (39%) | 0.445 | 14 (33%) | 7 (25%) | 0.244 |
| > 730 days | 2 (10%) | 4 (31%) | 0.058 | 4 (10%) | 6 (21%) | 0.141 |
Data reported per presentation for Sex, Age, ATS category, Primary diagnosis, Comorbidities
Data reported per patient for Deceased, Time to death
*from latest recorded admission
Abbreviations: ATS Australasian Triage Scale, ED emergency department, LRTI lower respiratory tract infection, URTI upper respiratory tract infection, OSA obstructive sleep apnoea